Beowulf
Page 15
We HEAR PEOPLE SCREAMING AND SOBBING, in the darkness.
Then a torch is LIT, and another, and another….
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 18.
In the silence, we see that THE MEAD HALL has been destroyed.
UNFERTH emerges from the piss pit, covered in excrement but alive.
WEALTHOW approaches Hrothgar, her face pale with shock.
WEALTHOW
What was…that?
WE SPIRAL IN into HROTHGAR’s blood-spattered face. And he says:
HROTHGAR
Grendel.
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15 INT. THE GREAT CAVE - NIGHT
15
The monster (who we now know is named GRENDEL), silhouetted by the cool light of the full moon, shambles into his lair -- a cave mouth, inside of which is a placid pool of clear water.
Grendel drops the bodies of the dead warriors onto a corner of the cave where the bones of men, both bleached and fleshy litter the floor. It is a strange and unnerving place.
We only see Grendel in fleeting glimpses and in shadows. But from what we see he is huge, and strangely misshapen. His eyes are empty and sanguine, but his corneas are flecked with glittering gold. His teeth are horrible atrocities of nightmarish proportion. He is more or less naked, and hairless.
WE HEAR A WOMAN’S VOICE…melodious and young. This is GRENDEL’S MOTHER.
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
Grendel? Hwaet oa him we as?
Grendel turns suddenly, surprised by her voice. Like a boy who has been caught masturbating.
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
What have you done? Grendel?
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16 HIGH ANGLE -- GRENDEL’S MOTHER’S P.O.V.
16
The CAMERA is on the ceiling, looking down at Grendel and the pool.
GRENDEL
Mother? Where are you?
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
Men? Grendel…we had an agreement.
The CAMERA DROPS off the ceiling and SPLASHES into the pool…a moment later WE SURFACE and “SWIM” toward Grendel. Floating inches above the waterline.
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
Fish, and wolves, and bear, and sometimes a sheep or two. But not men.
GRENDEL
You like men. Here…
It offers the CAMERA a body. We “swim” closer…
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
Not these fragile creatures, my darling. Remember, they will hurt us. They have killed so many of us…of our kind…
GRENDEL
They were making so much noise. They were making so much merry…it hurt. Hurt my head.
Tears begin to run down Grendel’s face. He drops the warriors, they float on the surface of the pool.
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
(sharply)
Was Hrothgar there?
GRENDEL
I did not touch him.
Something SLITHERS past the CAMERA…something GOLD and SCALY, perhaps a tentacle, or a long lizard’s tail…
GRENDEL’S MOTHER (O.C.)
Good boy. My poor sensitive boy.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 20.
The tentacle reaches out for Grendel and gently caresses his tortured, pitiful head.
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17 EXT. HEROT -- DAWN
17
THE DULL SUN peeks out from under the dark, cold clouds. Hard frozen snow covers the ground. TIME HAS PAST, it’s the dead of winter
The castle and it’s keep are covered in a blanket of new snow. A WOMAN’S SCREAM pierces the frigid air…
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18 INT. HEROT - HROTHGAR’S QUARTERS - MORNING
18
Hrothgar and Wealthow are asleep in their bed -- a straw pallet, covered with cloth and deer hides.
UNFERTH appears and respectfully touches Hrothgar’s shoulder.
UNFERTH
(whispering)
My lord?
HROTHGAR
(waking)
Hnh? What?
UNFERTH
My lord. It has happened again.
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19 EXT. MEAD HALL DAY
19
HROTHGAR, UNFERTH AND WULFGAR (the King’s Herald) along with a CONTINGENT OF THANES stand before the mead hall’s great new doors. The doors are much thicker and fortified with great iron straps.
HROTHGAR
How many this time?
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UNFERTH
I could not tell. They were not whole. Five. Ten…it was Nykvest’s daughter’s wedding feast.
WULFGAR
He’s coming more frequently.
The three men stare at the pink spreading on the snow from under the door’s threshold.
HROTHGAR
The new door hasn’t been touched.
UNFERTH
Nay. The Grendel devil obviously came and went through the skorsten.
Unferth points to the smoke vent in the hall’s roof…a blood stained trail cuts through the snow…down off the roof, and across the compound grounds.
HROTHGAR
(almost sad)
When I was young I killed a dragon, in the Northern Moors. But I’m too old for demon-slaying now. We need a hero, a cunning young hero, to rid us of this curse upon our hall.
WULFGAR
I wish you had a son, my lord.
UNFERTH
You can wish into one hand, Wulfgar, and shit into the other, see which fills up first.
Hrothgar turns to the small crowd of subjects who have gathered…
HROTHGAR
Men, Build another pyre! There’s dry wood behind the stables. Then burn the dead.
(now louder, with royal authority)
And close this hall! Seal the doors and windows! And by the King’s order: There shall be no further music, singing or merrymaking of any kind!!
(takes a deep breath and turns away)
This place reeks of death.
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Hrothgar shuffles off through the snow. Unferth and Wulfgar fall-in alongside…
HROTHGAR (CONT’D)
(quietly to Unferth and Wulfgar)
The scops are singing the shame of Herot as far south as the middle sea, as far north as the ice-lands. Our cows no longer calf, our fields lie fallow, the very fish flee from our nets, knowing that we are cursed. I have let it be known that I will give half the gold in my kingdom to any man who can rid us of Grendel.
UNFERTH
My King, for deliverance our people sacrifice goats and sheep to Odin or Heimdall…with your permission, shall we also pray to the new Roman God, Christ Jesus…maybe He can lift this affliction?
HROTHGAR
The gods will do nothing for us that we will not do for ourselves. No, we need a hero.
THUNDER RUMBLES!!
CRACK!!! LIGHTNING FLASHES…
Illuminating WAVES…200 feet tall…
20 EXT. THE STORMY SEA - DAY
20
Great gray sheets of rain sweep a stormy Northern sea. he clouds, black as pitch. The ocean is furious. CRASHING like an angry orchestra!!
A Nordic sailing vessel (under full sail) crests a giant wave and thrusts…
BEOWULF straight toward the LENS…into an EXTREME CLOSE P…this is the same man we saw earlier, in the autumn of his life, but now he’s in his twenties.
Standing on the deck…he wears leather armor studded with hand pounded iron. At his hip is a heavy, hand forged ancestry sword.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 23.
His cape, a tapestry of heavy black weaves and animal skins, blows in the wind. Freezing rain pelts his chiseled face.
At the oars sit FOURTEEN THANES. Their hands, bloodied and pierced with slivers, tug at the wooden oars.
Beowulf, holding the mast for balance, remains undaunted by the HOWLING WINDS and the walls of water surrounding him. He stares at where the horizon must be.
WIGLAF, now i
n his late thirties, clambers up to where Beowulf is standing…
WIGLAF
(shouting above the wind and rain)
Can you see the coast? Do you see the Dane’s guide-fire?
BEOWULF
I see nothing but the wind and the rain.
WIGLAF
No fire? No stars by which to navigate? We’re lost! Given to the sea!
Beowulf looks at him and starts LAUGHING…a laugh of challenge.
BEOWULF
Ha! The sea is my mother! She will never take me back into her murky womb!
WIGLAF
That’s fine for you. But my mother’s a fishwife in Uppland. And I was rather hoping to die in battle, as a warrior should.
(he becomes more serious)
The men are worried the storm has no end, Beowulf…
Beowulf rests his hand on Wiglaf’s shoulder.
BEOWULF
(looking up to the sheets of falling rain)
This is no earthly storm! That much we can be sure. But this demon’s tempest won’t hold us out!
(then to Wiglaf with a grin)
Not if we really want in.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 24.
Wiglaf looks at Beowulf with wide, questioning eyes. Is Beowulf mad? Even if he was, Wiglaf would follow him into the mouth of death herself. Wiglaf turns to the other thanes, whose morale needs charging as well.
WIGLAF
Who wants to live!?
All of the thanes HEAVE A MUTUAL RESPONSE…they do.
WIGLAF (cont’d) (CONT’D)
Then pull your oars! Let’s see you do it! For Beowulf! For gold! For glory!! HEAVE!!!
Good ol’ Wiglaf. He’s managed to get the men GRUNTING ENTHUSIASTICALLY with every stroke. He looks at Beowulf, illuminated by a FLASH OF LIGHTNING. Who wouldn’t follow him?
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21 EXT. THE DANISH CLIFF TOPS - STORM
21
Five spears stand together, their blades pointing to the vortex of the Cimmerian storm above.
The spears belong to the SCYLDINGS’ WATCH, a Dane whose duty it is to watch the coast for invaders. He sits at a camp set up next to some ancient cliff-side ruins of unknown origin. He cooks a field mouse over a small fire.
At sea…LIGHTNING FLASHES.
The Scyldings’ Watch jumps up, squinting his eyes to scan the horizon…something’s there.
ANOTHER FLASH…and sure enough something is there. A tiny craft with bright shields hanging from its sides. And a golden dragon is emblazoned on its sail.
His mouth falls open. He drops his mouse kebab and jumps onto his HORSE, grabs his greatest long spear, then spurs his horse down a near vertical drop of the cliff-side.
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22 EXT. SEA SHORE -- LATER
22
In the rain, Beowulf and his men are hauling their boat up onto the beach.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 25.
WIGLAF sees something…he points down the beach.
THE SCYLDING’S WATCH is galloping full-out down the beach…coming straight towards us, he lowers his long spear…ready to impale the first man he reaches.
Beowulf takes a few steps toward the armed rider, unafraid.
Faster and faster the rider and his spear come at us…closer and closer…until the spear point fills the screen…then…
The rider STOPS…the spike an inch from Beowulf’s nose!! Beowulf didn’t flinch.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
Who are you? By your dress, you are warriors.
WIGLAF
Yes. We
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
Speak! Why should I not run you through right now? Who are you? Where are you from?
BEOWULF
We are Geats. I am Beowulf, son of Edgethow. We have come seeking your prince, Hrothgar, in friendship. They say you have a monster here. They say your land is cursed.
Scyldings’ Watch doesn’t move.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
Is that what they say?
WIGLAF
Bards sing of Hrothgar’s shame from the frozen north to the shores of Vinland.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
It is no shame to be accursed by demons.
WIGLAF
It is no shame to accept aid that is freely giv…
BEOWULF
(cutting off Wiglaf)
I am Beowulf, and I have come to kill your monster.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 26.
The Watch lifts his spear, he looks over Beowulf’s men with questioning eyes.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
You’ll need horses.
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23 EXT. KING’S ROAD/BRIDGE/RAVINE DAY
23
The storm has subsided, but the sky is still very dark and ominous.
Leading from the massive wooden bridge is a rocky road of shale stones, perhaps recycled tombstones, set into the mud and lined by large stone monoliths. The lone turret of Castle Herot can be seen in the distance.
BEOWULF’S MEN are riding along on shaggy ponies, following the Scyldings’ Watch.
SCYLDING’S WATCH reins his horse at the threshold of the bridge…
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
This is as far as I go. I must return to the cliffs. The sea must not be left unguarded. The stone path is the king’s road.
(with a smile)
It was built in better times. Follow it to great Herot, where my King waits.
BEOWULF
I thank you for your aid.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
Our monster is fast and strong.
BEOWULF
I too am fast and strong.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
So were the others who came here to fight it. They’re all dead. I thought no more heroes were foolish enough to come here and die for our gold.
BEOWULF
If we die, it shall be for glory, not for gold.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 27.
The watch kicks his horse, and heads back the way they came. And then he reins in his horse and calls--
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH
Beowulf?
Beowulf turns, and looks back at him.
SCYLDINGS’ WATCH (CONT’D)
The creature took my brother. Kill the bastard for me.
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24 INT. HROTHGAR’S ANTEROOM/OFFICE DAY
24
HROTHGAR stares out the window at the angry sea. He looks even older and grayer than he did when last we saw him. Unferth sits at the desk organizing treasure.
WULFGAR enters…
WULFGAR
My lord? My lord?
HROTHGAR
Huh?
WULFGAR
My lord. There are warriors outside, Geats. They are no beggars -- and their leader, Beowulf, is a--
HROTHGAR
(interrupting)
Beowulf? Edgethow’s little boy?
UNFERTH’S eyes narrow at the mention of Beowulf’s name.
HROTHGAR (CONT’D)
Not a boy any longer…but I knew him when he was a boy. Strong as a grown man he was, back then. Yes! Beowulf is here! Send him to me! Bring him in!
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25 EXT. HEROT - STOCKADE - DAY
25
There is a stir inside the village stockade, as the VILLAGERS gather around Beowulf and his 14 thanes.
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 28.
BEOWULF AND HIS MEN sit astride their mounts…perfectly still…hands hovering near their sword hilts…their eyes scanning the crowd.
YRSA is eating a large plum, letting its juice run down her chin and cleavage. She has her eye on…
HONDSHEW, an ornery Thane, and almost as big as Beowulf himself. He wears a large winged helm and has an oversized broadsword slung over his back.
He stares at Yrsa and her plum, and licks his lips..
WULFGAR appears, also on a horse…
WULFGAR
Hrothgar, Master of Battles, Lord of the North Danes, bids me say that he knows
you, Beowulf son of Edgethow. Knows your ancestry, and bids you welcome. You, and your men, will follow me…your helmets and armor are approved…but your shields and weapons will remain here until further notice.
WIGLAF gives Beowulf a look…he doesn’t like this.
WULFGAR (CONT’D)
I assure you…they won’t be disturbed.
Hondshew and the others look at Beowulf for guidance.
CLANK! Beowulf’s sword and spear hit the ground. He pulls a dagger from his belt and throws it so the blade sticks in the ground.
His men copy him. Their weapons fall to the ground.
HONDSHEW’S giant broadsword CLATTERS to the ground…
YRSA
My…that’s a big one you’ve got there, outlander.
Hondshew swallows with an almost audible GULP.
Wiglaf pulls his horse up and glares at Yrsa…
WIGLAF
Woman! Have you nothing better to be doing?
BLUE Rev. 2005-09-11 29.
She makes no reply, but with her little finger, wipes the drip of plum-juice from her breast, and licks it from her finger.
HROTHGAR (O.S.)
Beowulf!!
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26 EXT. MEAD HALL CLOSE HROTHGAR DAY